Editorial: Time to dump winner-take-all electoral voting

States don’t need to wait for a constitutional amendment to solve one of the biggest problems created by the electoral college.

And the time is now, because the partisan edge is off after this week’s voting.

There was speculation before Tuesday’s election that one presidential candidate might win the popular vote while the other won in the electoral college. It didn’t happen, but in the meantime, many of us had to refresh our memories of those long-forgotten civics lessons.

The electoral college was established by the founding fathers as a compromise between choosing the president by popular election or by Congress. When we vote, we actually select electors who then vote for president. States can decide how to allocate their electoral votes, and today all but two states (Maine and Nebraska) award them on a winner-take-all basis. If a presidential candidate wins a bare majority or even plurality, he wins all the state’s electoral votes. As a result, in rare cases, a president has won the electoral vote without winning the popular vote, most recently in 2000 when George W. Bush was elected.

What’s new in 2012, however, is the result of changing demographics.

Solidly Democratic states now dominate the nation’s coasts, while the middle and south are home to many dependably Republican states. Presidential candidates don’t spend much time in those states, because electoral college calculations place them solidly in one camp or the other. Independents and undecided voters become irrelevant to the electoral college outcome.

The result, according to an analysis by Adam Liptak in The New York Times, is increased voter apathy in what he calls the “spectator states.” He reported that in 2008, voter turnout was six points lower in the spectator states than in the 15 swing states where candidates campaigned the most.

So why not just dump the electoral college? For one, it would take a constitutional amendment, a lengthy, complicated and some would say risky path. For another, at any given time, one of the major political parties might expect to benefit from the electoral approach, making its members less supportive of change.

But each state can make the most important change by getting rid of the winner-take-all method of allocating its electoral votes. Several approaches have been proposed, and some states have already pledged to make the move if others join them. It’s time for a change.

Connect with The Bulletin

Popular stories for News

A Crook County Grand Jury on Thursday indicted a Prineville man who allegedly sexually abused several teenage males on 30 charges including sodomy, sex abuse and encouraging child sex abuse. Leo Carl Novak, 63, originally faced two counts of third-degree sex abuse and two counts of third-degree sodomy for alleged incidents involving two Crook County brothers, according to Ron Brown, the county's chief deputy district…
... more

FRESNO, Calif. — Federal law now allows visitors to carry guns in national parks, but you can’t just slip a loaded pistol into your backpack and take a hike. Pay attention, because this is a little complicated. You will need a concealed weapons permit to carry the loaded gun in the backpack. But you don’t need any kind of permit if you just want to…
... more

Reporter’s prelude: This past winter, I had so much fun trying out and writing about Central Oregon’s popular snow sports that The Bulletin decided to bring back a similar series for this summer. Join me as I explore a number of the region’s cherished summer sports and recreational activities. This week, I try swimming. Even though Central Oregon is considered the high desert, the region…
... more

A few weeks ago, a reader sent me an eloquent email complaining about a story in which I'd suggested paddling on the northern branch of Sparks Lake as an alternative to more crowded portions of the popular lake. The writer said that over the decades, he'd seen Central Oregon “loved to death. ” Now, powder is tracked out in 30 minutes, Sparks Lake is always…
... more

Move over, large lap pools. Smaller swimming holes are making a big splash. Sure, the economy is playing a role in making this luxury littler: Smaller pool equals smaller budget. But it's more than that, says Brett Berry, owner of Landscape Renderings, a Missouri business that designs and builds outdoor living environments. “You can create a fantastic sense of intimacy and atmosphere with a small…
... more